Claudia Sheinbaum's government unveiled the calendar to register over 134 million Mexicans for the universal health credential, starting March 2, 2026, in 14 states and running through December. The Secretariat of Well-being will deploy 14,000 public servants in modules to handle the process, which includes a protected digital medical file. Registrations will proceed alphabetically by paternal surnames and require basic documents like birth certificate and CURP.
On January 20, 2026, President Claudia Sheinbaum outlined the universal health credential during her morning press conference, aimed at providing nationwide medical access in Mexico. The goal is to credential 134,407,258 people, with an investment of about 3,500 pesos per credential for over 130 million units. Available in physical and digital formats, it will allow clinic selection, appointment scheduling, and immediate access to a protected digital medical file via QR code.
“Our goal is for all Mexican women and men to be credentialed. What does it benefit the citizen? With this credential through its QR, they will be able to access, first, the health service that corresponds to them, and there will come immediately their medical file that will be in a totally protected database,” Sheinbaum explained.
Registration starts Monday, March 2, in 14 states affiliated with IMSS-Bienestar: Baja California Sur, Campeche, Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Michoacán, Nayarit, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Yucatán, and Zacatecas. On March 23, it expands to Baja California, Chiapas, Mexico City, Colima, Guerrero, Morelos, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, and Veracruz. Opposition-led states like Chihuahua, Querétaro, Jalisco, and Nuevo León are initially excluded; there, priority goes to IMSS and ISSSTE beneficiaries, with integration depending on governors, provided services remain free.
Well-being Secretary Ariadna Montiel said procedures will run Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., across 2,365 modules and 9,791 stations, staffed by 14,000 National Public Servants. It will proceed alphabetically by paternal surname initial, month by month from March to December. Minors can register with parents to streamline the process.
Required documents include: birth certificate with CURP, official photo ID with CURP, and proof of address. For minors, tutor's ID. At the module, documents are checked, consent for data use is signed, photo, fingerprint, and contact number are taken. The physical credential arrives via SMS notification or call to 079; the digital version follows six weeks later.
Sectoral Integration Subsecretary Eduardo Clark noted: “Universal health service means people can choose which clinic to go to... to make an appointment in the one that suits us best.” This initiative seeks to unify the national health system, excluding for now fee-based state services.
